I’ve been reading a lot of posts surrounding various issues and have heard the mention of Friday cars and being “unlucky” to get one but does the theory of Friday cars really hold water?
If sloppy builds do happen more on a Friday is there a way of finding out exactly when your car rolled off the production line? It might make interesting reading, for those who do have nightmare cars at least!
I know it’s a bit tongue in cheek but non the less would like to know if there is a way to tell when your car was actually made. 57 HSE AUTO with H.I.D's - Grey with Black leather. (H.S.E. Heightadjustable Seats Extra )
My Aviation website - UKHelicopterPilot.com

"Friday Car" term came from many years ago when engine, transmission compoment build tolerances were not to todays standards (i.e. 500 miles per pint of oil was normal) and the factory machinery for boring blocks, casting and grinding crankshafts, camshafts etc was retooled over the weekends. This also applied to equipment for pressing body panels. Hence Monday cars were to best tollerances. All FL2's (3) Gone
2011 Mercedes C180 CGI Gone
FL2 GS Auto SD with heated leather, factory tints, alloy spare and a few other bits.

I have What I call a Friday car !
I understand that the exact build time can be traced. I doubt mine was Friday but just unlucky! I dont think its even sloppy, I think its just luck and quality of parts and having the correct support when needed makes all the difference!

Anything that is manufactured by a registered company and sold to the public must by law have traceability. The information is there but whether its available to you is another matter.

I always thought a 'Friday car' or anything else come to that was a 'sod it' attitude, it's nearly the weekend and interest just tailed off in what they were doing. As for whether it's true, no, I don't think so, multiple issues are down to very bad luck.

It's funny but when I was younger, many moons ago we used to say that some thing was a Monday morning build when it was a bit iffy, people were hungover from the week end and couldn't be bothered but this was about anything not cars but back then we just built big boats and armaments on the tyne as I'm writing this I have remembered working with a miller who graded his cuts (wood) by the days of the week, Monday - very accurate Wednesday - Average Friday -  oo! Shiney!
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55 Nissan Navara SE Black - My Toy.
08 Freelander 2 XS Santorini Black - Her Majesty's Toy.

Ghyllie wrote:

It's funny but when I was younger, many moons ago we used to say that some thing was a Monday morning build when it was a bit iffy, people were hungover from the week end and couldn't be bothered the days of the week, Monday - very accurate Wednesday - Average Friday -

It applies to most things I am a bus driver and the buses we get are the same they are all hand built and I think the apprentice built some off ours, the electrics are terrible, they leak and the cummins engines are so under powered....... Sorry economical is the excuse we get. Don't know if this is the time or place but here goes.......... ALEXANDER DENNIS your buses are rubbish. Maybe a bit harsh as they are nice and comfy to drive, just let down by a lot off little niggles. Just like land rovers. 21MY Defender 90 S 3.0 D200

The Friday car is pure myth. In fact, the atmoshere on VM's track on a Friday is at it's best so by pure conjecture, a Friday car if anything, could be a better bulit car.
Friday cars were refered to as a car which had it more than a fair share of premature troublesome or failed compoments no matter on what day it was built. Another member of the failed FL2 clutch/DMF club, twice.

Pegleg wrote:

The Friday car is pure myth. In fact, the atmoshere on VM's track on a Friday is at it's best so by pure conjecture, a Friday car if anything, could be a better bulit car.
Friday cars were refered to as a car which had it more than a fair share of premature troublesome or failed compoments no matter on what day it was built.

It isn't myth or I should say it wasn't myth, druand is right they only did thier retooling once a weekso engines built on a friday were generally less accurately machined than one done earlier in the week but with todays manufacturing techniques this is a thing of the past, I expect that the "Monday built" bit was just something that we had locally and the rest of the world had Friday  oo! Shiney!
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55 Nissan Navara SE Black - My Toy.
08 Freelander 2 XS Santorini Black - Her Majesty's Toy.

oldgeezer wrote:

I have What I call a Friday car !
I understand that the exact build time can be traced. I doubt mine was Friday but just unlucky! I dont think its even sloppy, I think its just luck and quality of parts and having the correct support when needed makes all the difference!

I think yours was built on a Saturday around the back of the bike shed.

I was told that the friday car came from the policy of "job and Knock".

This has been a policy in most factories i've worked in. They have the quota for the week and come friday you get to clock out as soon as that quota is done. Hence everyone rushed to finish them.

Nowadays everyone uses Toyota as a model for "world class manufacturing" and getting an early doesn't happen. Due to the loss of unions workers are scared to look managers in the eye now.

The "f**k them its friday" mentallity still exits and most managers havn't got a clue what your job involves anyway.

As for Oldgeezers car, if I was fault finding on that, and knew the general reliability of each component, surely by now, i'd be looking at the failures as symptons to a much deeper rooted problem. I dont know if landrover runs on a bus sytem (instead of a wiring loom) but surely they should look here or main computer. Do they just scrap the parts taken off or test them on one of their own vehicles?

I work in industry but faults on machines are simular and these type of fault histories normally come back to the Asi bus or network system and have even been just a fault in the cable insulation before.

Mine was built on a Friday 13th over 3.5 years ago - most reliable vehicle ever owned
Thought it was Monday cars that were the worst  2007 Freelander 2 HSE TD4 Manual with Premium Pack & Moonroof.
Stornoway Grey with Ebony Black Pleather, Clear Indicators, Body Side Mouldings etc.

I definitely had a "Friday Car" - a TDi300. Just like Oldgeezer's everything - and I mean everything - went wrong on it in 18 months and it got to the stage where I could no longer drive it without something going wrong - often something I had already had fixed once. Trying to rationalise this, the only thing I could think of was the fact that I ordered it with steel wheels instead of the alloys. I did wonder if this meant they had found one sitting round the back of the factory somewhere that had had something wrong with it or maybe been sitting there a long time, and got someone to change the wheels and tart it up to sell to me.

What was really weird was that the dealer I eventually sold it back to sold it on to someone else who they claimed had no problem with it at all. So maybe it was just the chemistry between me and that car.

Having posed the question here’s what I think...
IMHO I can see where the expression may have come from, from a few of the suggestions made, but in reality, nowadays at least, I recon it’s just pure luck.
In 25 years of buying and selling cars in the main I’ve been lucky, good judgement and knowing when to walk away is also important, but it’s very difficult if you really like the look and feel of a particular car...
There is an element of risk with every vehicle you buy, even brand new;
There are no guarantees, just warranties. (I have a 2 year landrover one!)
In fact I’m putting it to the test already (after less than a week) as my mirrors only fold either, 1. when they feel like it (on locking) or 2. when I quickly unlock and then lock (I’ve tried all the usual fixes).

My FL1 needed a new ECU alarm and keys 3 weeks before the end of its warranty after being stranded with battery drain 4 times on the run, so I was glad I had one. I was told the fix would have been around £700 if I’d had to pay.

The thing is, despite LR’s somewhat dubious reputation for reliability they are without doubt, the best looking, most capable vehicles in their field and very popular by all accounts. I guess that’s why many owners put up with a lot of faults.

I’m looking forward to my off road half day.  57 HSE AUTO with H.I.D's - Grey with Black leather. (H.S.E. Heightadjustable Seats Extra )
My Aviation website - UKHelicopterPilot.com